Norway – agediscrimination.info

Hjort

www.hjort.no

Overview

Under Norwegian legislation there are two Acts that solely regulate discrimination: The Gender Act and the Discrimination Act. In addition to this legislation, there are discrimination regulations in the Employment Act, chapter 13, and also in the Criminal Code.

According to the Employment Act, section 13-1 (1), direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of political views, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation, disability or age is prohibited. Harassment and instruction to discriminate persons for reasons are also regarded as discrimination.

The provisions of the Employment Act, chapter 13 apply to all aspects of employment, from advertising to termination of the employment.

There are only national laws.

Many of the discrimination provisions implement EU- directive.

Exceptions from the prohibition against discrimination

According to the Employment Act, section 13-3, age discrimination may be justified in the following cases:

1) When discrimination has a just cause, that does not involve disproportionate intervention in relation to the person or persons so treated and that is necessary for the performance of work or profession.

2) When discrimination is necessary to the achievement of a just cause and does not involve disproportionate intervention in relation to the person or persons so treated is not in contravention of the prohibition against indirect discrimination, discrimination on the basis of age or discrimination against an employee who works part-time or on a temporary basis.

Preferential treatment

According to the Employment Act, section 13-6, Preferential treatment that helps to promote equality of treatment is not in contravention of the provisions of chapter 13. Such special treatment shall cease when its purpose has been achieved.

Who’s covered?

The provisions of the Employment Act, chapter 13 apply to all employees, to the employer’s selection and treatment of self-employed persons and contract workers. Further there is of no consequence whether the employee works part-time or on a temporary basis.

There are no specific limitations. Only commissioned officers and other militarily crew are excluded.

What enforcement/remedies exist?

Criminal sanctions:

According to the Employment Act, section 19-1, employer who wilfully or negligently breaches the provisions in the Employment Act or orders contained in or issued pursuant to this Act shall be liable to a fine, imprisonment for up to three months or both. In the event of particularly aggravating circumstances the penalty may be up to two years’ imprisonment.

Civil remedies:

Claims regarding discrimination can be settled by the ordinary courts.

Compensation:

According to the Employment Act, section 13-9, anyone who has been discriminated may demand compensation without regard to the fault of the employer. The compensation shall be fixed at the amount the court deems reasonable in view of the circumstances of the parties and other facts of the case. The level of such compensation is in general relative low in Norway, in comparison with for example the UK.

Compensation for financial loss as a result of discrimination in contravention of the Employment Act, chapter 13 may be claimed pursuant to the normal rules of compensation.

Burden of proof:

According to the Employment Act, section 13-8, the employer must substantiate that discrimination has not occurred if the employee submits information that gives reason to believe that discrimination has taken place.

Other enforcing body:

In Norway there is a discrimination mandate, which operate ex officio or on request. The mandate gives statements regarding discrimination. If the statement does not lead to improvement, the case can be taken to the discrimination committee. The committee has the authority to instruct the employer in order to stop the discrimination. The committee can also give the employer compulsory fine until the discrimination stops. The decisions of the committee can be taken to court.

How common are claims?

Claims regarding discrimination due to age are not very common in Norway, especially in comparison to other form of discrimination law.

What claims are most common and what are trickiest issues for employers?

In Norway, we expect the most common claims to be in recruitment. Employees who have reached a certain age are often neglected in recruitment. Further more it has been known that there is quite a few claims regarding the advertisement.

There are a very few examples of claims due to retirement age. This is because the provisions state that dismissal before an employee reaches 70 years of age due solely to the fact that the employee has reached retirement age is not objectively justified.

Further more, we expect it to be more common that the employer and the employee enter into an agreement in cases the employer wants to dismiss a employee because of his age.

Are there any specific exceptions in your laws?

There are no such exceptions in Norwegian laws, except that commissioned offiserer and other militarily crew are excluded, as mentioned above.

Retirement ages

The general retirement age in Norway is 67, however the employees have the right to remain in position until the age of 70. According to the Employment act, section 15-7 (4), Dismissal before an employee reaches 70 years of age due solely to the fact that the employee has reached retirement age pursuant to the National Insurance Act shall not be deemed to be objectively justified. After the employee reaches 66 years of age, but not later than six months before he reaches retirement age, the employer may inquire in writing whether the employee wishes to retire from his post upon reaching retirement age. A reply to this inquiry must be returned in writing not less than three months before the employee reaches retirement age. Provided that this is expressly stated in the inquiry, protection against dismissal under the preceding paragraph lapses if no reply is received within the time limit stated.

Interesting cases

The provisions regarding age discrimination under Norwegian legislation is of relatively new date. Today there is no legal decision of any interest.